A couple of weeks ago, a Spanish friend of mine told me that in her city a lot of people wear dreadlocks because they think it's cool or because they want to appear as 'hippy'. I have noticed the same phenomenon in many Albanian singers back home or during the time that I have been travelling this summer. I know that in America where the race issues are very present, the problem that comes with dreadlocks has been brought up and accentuated in many cases, predominantly due to the painful past. This is not the same for the European countries where racism and societal divisions are based on nationality or ethnicity rather than the colour of your skin. For this reason, the use of dreadlocks have often been neglected and you never hear 'cultural appropriation' being mentioned in the media. However, this doesn't mean that white Europeans are allowed to wear dreadlocks, because although they are not in the US context, they are still white and hold the privileges that come with their whiteness. They still committ cultural appropriation. Although in many cases it happens unconsciously or due to ignorance, it is offensive to Black people.
